We landed in Nairobi,
Kenya. But only after a 3 hour flight from Orlando to New York, an 8 hour
plus flight from New York to Zurich, and an 8 hour plus flight from Zurich to Nairobi.
Whew! Fortunately my dear wife made certain that we had sufficient lay-over
time at each stop; plenty of time for irritants such as customs and multiple
security checks, as well as time to have a snack and relax a bit.

The only thing we can say about
New York is we've learned the routes through the facility and get around handily. As for Zurich,
the best we can say is bring your wallet - $5.00 for half a cup of rotten coffee
or a Coca-Cola Light! As for Nairobi, we didn't really see anything other
than the city from the bus as we went to the hotel and the from the the safari van on the
way out to Mount Kenya. Our impressions of Nairobi center on dust, dust and more
dust, terrible main roads, crowds of folks waiting for vans for transportation -
which vans ran wild, over curbs, on the medians, and on the shoulders.
Imagine a nine passenger van with "seats" for 12 or more. The worst
driving seen while in this country; all the other vehicle's drivers were pretty polite
and considerate. They do use the Philippine passing custom - if you are
passing a vehicle and it appears an oncoming vehicle will be close to a collision
with you, whomever hits the bright headlights first has
right-of-way. We learned that Kenya has about 35% unemployment, so
one can imagine what one might see in the way of housing and such. This definitely
is a country that needs to build an infrastructure.

We really didn't get a good look
at anything on the way out until we were well out of town. And here's what
the roads are like:

There were only two roads one
could ride on safely and comfortably. One was the Chinese highway and the
second the Italian highway. The Chinese appear to have the contracts for
most of the road repairs and building in Kenya and from everything we heard, they've done
a good job. As for the Italian highway, more about that as discuss leaving
Kenya.

Having said all of this, two
things:

PLUS:
The country is beautiful! The guides we had were personable, well versed,
experienced, had a terrific sense of humor and a joy to be with. The Kenyans we
met were uniformly friendly and pleased we were here to visit. Most people
speak both English and Swahili skillfully, as well as their tribal language and local
dialects. The children are both beautiful and friendly, as children have
been every where we've gone. They wave and smile as we pass. They
are a bit embarrassed and shy if approached, but warm up immediately. As
they get older they grow more reserved.

Kenya, if you do your homework, is
a wonderful place to visit, but we cannot speak for the cities as we spent
little or no time in them. The country is green and lush. The
soil, except in the higher altitudes, is dark and appears to be easily worked,
which is good as the vast majority of the agricultural work is done by hand, mules
and oxen. This soil is the type my Grandfather in Kansas would say,
"Soil so fine that you could plant pebbles and harvest
boulders." As one leaves the city the clothing is less modern and
more colorful. Yes, the Masai do wear those blood red robes about their
shoulders and women do wear the colorful clothes that are stereotypically
African. The foods locally grown and sold in town markets and along
the road is simply beautiful - Oh, the bananas! What entrepreneurs!
While people are very poor, if one has a cylinder of oxygen and acetylene, one sets up
along the road in town as a "welding shop". If one has bicycle
parts, some tools and space to lay them on the ground, it is a bicycle
shop. Kenyans may not have much, but they are proud, hard working and striving
to make a living. I would go back in a minute - and plan to when the
grandchildren are old enough to travel that far.

MINUS: A
country lacking infrastructure and a middle class, and all that the lack of both
means. There is no drinkable water
suitable for
anyone not raised there. The dust and smoke from a thousand sources
fill the air and permeate clothes, hair and vehicles. I will never smell
smoke without thinking of Kenya. Dust is a way of life. While the roadsides
were maybe not as badly trashed as seen in parts of Mexico, there was trash (mostly
plastic and paper) along all the roads - even way out in the remote areas - with
the notable exception of the parks and reserves. Water is scarce, even for the
tourist. We found the water provided by the lodges and hotels to be half
of what was supplied in every other country where local water was unsafe for
visitors. Water supplies were a constant concern. The Kenyans drink
from the few sources of water in their area, carrying it for miles on their
heads, bikes and animal propelled carts, and we saw no water in the streams and
rivers that was not cloudy and muddy - not to speak of the animals sharing the
water with them. Kenyans must spend their time walking long
distances go anywhere or to acquire anything. If one cannot walk in Kenya,
one cannot survive for long. We decided that at our age we could not
survive a week in rural - maybe any of - Kenya. The life of the populace
seems incredibly difficult and we have never had to experience the simple act of
survival as they do on a daily basis.

WARNING:
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go to visit the parks and reserves in Kenya by car or
van if you have
a problem with your neck, back, hips or any part of your body that cannot withstand
repeated and unending strong jolts, bumps and shocks as you hold on for dear
life on the what passes for roads in Kenya. The best roads have pot
holes - sometimes 8 feet long, 5 feet wide and a foot deep. Not one, but a
number in a row, serial, distributed in such a way across the roads as to make them
impossible to miss. Going to the median or roadsides are no help, as so
many have used them to miss the pot holes, they one are now as badly
destroyed. To put it simply, there is nothing I can say to adequately describe
the impossibly poor quality of the roads. There is absolutely nothing in your
or my experience that can be remotely compared! More on this as we
describe the Mora Road trip.

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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Below one will find a number of
pictures of our Kenya trip. These pictures are restricted to travel and
rest stops and such. The pictures of the animals, parks and reserves are
found in their appropriate pages.

Please remember most of these picture
were taken "on the "run" from the back seat of a vehicle on
"road" that had more bumps than levels. Sorry for all the
pictures - when you get tired, just hit the back button on your keyboard.

The
scenery

Towns

Special
Locations

The
Roads

Road
Blocks

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OK,
before we start, a couple pictures that can't seem to find a correct place in
the organizational scheme, and amuse us:

This
picture caused no end of laughter and smart-ass repartee.

Its
not often that one finds a hospital and a funeral home in the same building.

Definitely
not part of the number of wild African animals we saw on the trip.

These
are "political" camels. We understand Egypt has given some
camels to Kenya

in
hopes of offering a better set of work animals, requiring less water and care,
as well as encouraging more commerce between the countries.

You
are now on notice - We absolutely allow no hooting in this area!

Consequently,
if you make negative comments or laugh derisively at the pictures,

your
Internet connection will be lost and you will be placed on our NO VISIT
list.

~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SCENERY

The
scenery along the roads varied considerably as we left the city, into the lowland
country and then on the way to higher altitudes. The city was very
crowded and dirty, The countryside was green and full of fields of
crops. Some of the commercial fields were enormous - I hesitate to guess
just how large. Some fields were 100 foot by 100 foot garden type plots, others were between
the side of the road and the nearest fence.

Commercial
agriculture was fairly centrally located - one would expect it to expand.

Any number of covered plants

as well as large plowed fields ready for seeds

Large grain fields already harvested, both wheat
and corn

Which leaves a ambitious farmer
the opportunity to raise crops on "free " land located on the shoulder
of the road, along land that the
commercial business have seen as a good crop growing area.

It appears a new crop has been
introduced - trees

Some areas are more established and better organized than others. The tree
crop being pushed by the government is eucalyptus trees.

Yet, many crops are grown just
anywhere they fit - worked by hand

There are cities, towns, villages
and what one might call private holes or even homesteads. The vast majority
of the people in the country live in smaller villages or tribal units.
Please keep in mind that Kenya is very tribal oriented.

Cows and goats are
everywhere. They are the primary currency in the outlying areas - remember
the tribal base of vast majority people living out here. Cows and goats
are wealth. I took these pictures, not because the animals were on the
road, that occurred often, but because the young boy acting as shepherd actually
had a Masai spear.

We saw boys, and a few girls, as
young as maybe five or six, being shepherds. In one case the boy could not
have been more than four or five, and he had three goats. We felt he was getting
on the job training. Representatives of this same age group were often seen
walking alone along the road or highway carrying small loads - - one learns responsibility
awful early in this country.

Oh - you NEVER see a Maasai man or boy without his stick! Doesn't matter if there's not a cow or goat
in sight - if he's in the country or the city - he has his stick. I did
see a number of instances, in the country only, not in the city, where a spear
was carried.

The water holes are very few and
far between . Most were dry or had no more than a pool of water, perhaps
15 - 20 feet in diameter. The water hole below was an exception in that
there was no-one gathering drinking water from it or washing clothes in
it.

As we get closer to higher
altitudes, the lush farmland gives way to a volcanic desert-like environment

Very quickly, even before getting
out of the city, one saw signs for churches and schools. For the most of
the trip, I'd guess you could not go further than 1/4 to 1/2 miles without a
sign for a church. I don't think a denomination was missing.
The churches we did see were anything from straw huts to pretty modern buildings.
The vast majority were of the one-room cinderblock or wooden sided shacks.
I did see both a mosque and a synagogue. Pictures of the signs are pretty
awful.

The most unusual church was this
one below. It was but in 1942 by Italian prisoners of war. It is on
the Italian Highway, which was built entirely by Italian POW's. It
remains one of two of the finest, real, actual highways in all of
Kenya. Although a tourist stop, the chapel quickly was closed as a church as
it only seats 17 people.

We did see a remarkable number of
flowers, plants, bushes and trees.

I think these Moro trees to be
the iconic African tree. I cannot see one without thinking of Africa

This tree is also found almost
everywhere, regardless of the type of land

It looks very much like a cactus
- however I never got close enough to make certain.

So, we saw tree along the road
that appeared to have something on their branches. We wondered if they
were parasites such as Air Plants or Spanish Moss

At
a bathroom stop at a shop we saw a tree with the explanation -

Spinner
Birds.

The
male weaves a nest for the female to lay her eggs. She examines the work
and if she doesn't approve, she tears the nest apart. In the course
of the trip we saw a number of nests torn and on the ground.

Pictures
of these jacaranda trees were simply beautiful. The pictures do not come
close

to
accurately offering their true color.

Towns

The small towns we went through
were very poor, with small shops strung together a short distance from the
road. Between the road and the shops was often found a dirt area perhaps
50 feet wide where
individuals sold a eclectic variety of products or offered a wide variety of small
business services, like wielding or bicycle repair. Both were folded
up and hauled away at night.

No,
not a motorcycle gang. At specific areas around town one finds a grouping
of motorcycle riders. They are selling rides to people.

The
primary mode for obtaining a ride is the public van. This is one of
the better ones. Most were 9 passenger vans with "seating" for
12 to 15 people. There are busses, but few and far between -
consequently, very full and crowded.

Many
homes and building in Kenya were built of adobe. Here a pile is a
prediction of a new home.

Although
I saw larger buildings being built, I got only one fairly good picture - the
purpose of the picture was to show the scaffolding were made of bamboo tied
together. Not only this three story building, but I saw a building at least
12 stories high with nothing but bamboo scaffolding.

These
pictures pretty accurately portray the conditions found in the villages.

But
not to give the impression that everywhere in every town was found the
environment seen above, there were exceptions. In one town Hodge had
to stop to pick up some high blood pressure medicine. The place we stopped
had several shops and was clean and neat. It also had this bronze elephant
- I had to get pictures.

Not
to miss an opportunity to have a Coca Cola Light,

we
followed Pam and Charles into Sherlock's Bistro

After
a cool drink, Jackie waits patiently with the van .

From
there to a gas station. There were not terribly many gas stations, but
then, in proportion to the population, there were not many automobiles.
Most of the transportation we saw were tourist vehicles and the public
vans.

This gas station was one of the cleaner and
neater seen.

And
then back into the scenes in the towns.

As
one goes further in the country, the towns, shops and living quarters become
smaller and poorer.

Lining the side of the road were
a variety of places and methods of selling almost anything. We saw produce,
banana (what bananas!), home made charcoal, sugar cane, even furniture.
The produce was beautiful. What was particularly interesting were the market
days in the towns and villages.

And
of course the tourist souvenir shops!

No,
not shrunken heads - masks. There were all types of masks, mostly animal
masks. We brought several home. These particular masks were in a
shop which had antique Maasai goods.

Shops
along the Great African Rift had a lot of sheep and goat skin products - anything from
rugs to hats and gloves.

Special
Stops and Places

The
last day in Kenya included a number of stops near Nairobi. Special Stops
included a nice residential restaurant for lunch, a stop at the Kazuri Bead
Factory, the Blixen Museum, home of Karen Blixen, the author of Out
of Africa, the Langata Giraffe Center for the rare and endangered
Rothschild Giraffe, and finally the Carnivore Restaurant that
night for dinner.

We
start with lunch in this splendid setting.

On
to the Kazuri Bead Factory. We were told by a friend who has volunteered
to work in Kenya each summer for maybe ten years, to visit this factory if we
could. They are famous for their beads and ship all over the world.
While we were there I looked at the outstanding order list on the wall and it
included 15 countries and perhaps 1/2 of the production going to the United
States.

Please
read he above to understand why this factory is so revered.

(by
the way, when asked, after 4 hours on Kenya's roads if we wanted to stop at a
factory,

we
rather unanimously voted no. We stopped anyway. In the end, quite of
bit of money was spent on their merchandise.)

These
ladies are forming each bead by hand from processed clay.

While
not as well known for their plate ware, we were shown the bowls ready for glaze.

Glaze
is painted on each bead - including intricate designs.

The
beads are placed in the kilns after every bead is hand prepared on individual
wires

The
finished beads are hand strung according to written directions from each buyer -
as seen on the papers before the women.

And
about here I filled the chip in my camera and could not take any more pictures. They
would have included the finished products ready for packing and the factory
store. We purchased any number of items, including 100 loose beads for our
granddaughter to string.

And
off we go to the Blixen Museum.

I
hate to admit how ignorant I am. This name - "Blixen" meant
absolutely nothing to me. I couldn't imagine what type of museum we would
find. Fortunately I was with a pretty well informed group who easily
recognized the name and knew much of the history of Ms Blixen and her
home.

The
Karen Blixen Museum in Africa was near Nairobi, and was her home,
called "Mbogani" between 1917 and 1931.It was, at that time in the middle of a large coffee plantation of about
5000 acres, of which 600 acres were in coffee and the remainder allowed to
remain wild. The home was donated by the
Danish government to Kenya and opened in 1986, following the popularity of the 1985
movie, Out of Africa. Nowadays the museum is situated in the suburb called
Karen, and you hardly find coffee there, but plenty of rich houses and a lot of horses.

This
museum was not used for the filming of Out of Africa, as the pictures were taken
in her first farmhouse, called Mbagathi, nearby, where she lived between 1914
and 1917.Much of the furniture in
the house is props provided to the museum by the filming company.

We
wondered just why Ms Blixen is so revered by Kenyans.During the tour of the home, we were told she employed (and Iíve
forgotten the actual number) perhaps 2,000.She
provided each with medical care and provided schools for the children.She was violently and very vocally opposed to the British method of
dealing with Kenya.She was very
outspoken and strongly committed to Kenyans.

Now
we know why she remains so revered in Kenya.

The
grounds are beautifully maintained

A clock over the main door.

One of the very few remaining coffee trees

Coffee beans on that tree

Eucalyptus trees

A breezeway beside the house

Mbogani

Her
lover was buried on the top of the hill to the right. The natives say that
years and years ago, the people became wicked, dirty and lazy. God knelt
down and hit the earth with his fist. He said this would happen to all who
did not go back to following his ways. Over the wedding tents (this a
popular
wedding location), you can see where God's knuckles hit the earth.

More
beautiful grounds.

And
now to the Langata Giraffe Center

(These
were the only animals in captivity we saw the entire trip)

AND

The
most amusing Rothschild Giraffe pictures involve kissing the giraffe.
Please visit the

"Fellow
Travelers" page to see them!

This
center is founded and supported to protect the rare and endangered Rothschild
Giraffe. The Rothschild Giraffe or Baringo
Giraffe was found in abundance in Uganda as
their original or primary home.
Uganda is bordered on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of Uganda
includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by both
Kenya and Tanzania.

When
Idi Amin Dada ruled Uganda with the military for over eight years, Amin's
rule cost an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Ugandans' lives. He
forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Asian minority from Uganda and devastated
the economy.This relates
directly to the endangered status of the Rothschild.His army was directed to use the giraffe for target practice.

Very
few were left, and a number were captured to be raised and bred in safety at the
Center as
their wild population only numbers about 500.

The
Baringo Giraffe is one of the 9 giraffe species that live in Africa. While,
like other giraffes, it has brown markings, its patches are darker than the
Somali giraffe's and tidier and less jagged than those of the Masai giraffe.Recently it has been proposed that the
Rothschild Giraffe is actually a separate species from other giraffes and not a
giraffe subspecies because this is the only subspecies to be born with five
'horns'. Two of these are 'true' horns at the top of the head, common with
all giraffes. The third horn can often be seen in the centre of the giraffe's
forehead and the other two behind each ear.

They
are also taller than many other subspecies, measuring up to six meters tall (20 ft).This therefore qualifies
them as the tallest mammals in the entire world.

The
Rothschild's waiting to get their treats. The one in front is the big buck

They
are very gentle and look forward to licking your hand to get the treat

It
only takes one visitor to attract the beggars

They
are in a very large compound and blend in well with the brush and trees.

Here
you can clearly see the horns

In comes the baby - everyone coos!

The
seniors are taking all the treats

Baby
is attracted to the treats and the others

Coming in!

Trying
to shoulder her way into the crowd

Success - a few treats !

"I'll get my share", she says.

Jackie
watches the action from near the hand washing station and the snack bar

And
Now We're Carnivores!

And
at last, the day wears down. For several companions, this is their
last night in Kenya. The remaining eleven of us are off to Tanzania
tomorrow at 7:30. We're lucky, the folks leaving are out of here at 3:30
am!

The
Carnivore Restaurant is a must for tourists - however the majority of the folks
there appeared to be local or part of a wedding party. The meals
looked expensive - you'll see in a minute - but the full course meals we had
would run about $31 USD.

You
go in to the reception desk, behind which is a circular grill full of firewood
and coals. Its perhaps 15 feet in diameter. It, in turn is
surrounded by meat on spits.

Looks
bit like Hell when pictured without flash, doesn't it?

We're
gathered around the table, not certain about what happens next.

We
were given a small Kenyan flag on a pole. We were told we would
be served continually until we surrendered. Surrender is signified by toppling
the flag flat on the table.

Yes, there was full house

We
were brought some breads, potatoes and an unusual salad. A number of us were daring
and purchased a drink. It had rum, a freshly squeezed lime and lime juice,
honey and some other things I've forgotten. not bad!

And
now we find out about the spits of meat. A server would bring over a spit
with a meat on it - the meats included pork sausages, lamb sausages, lamb legs,
beef, turkey, chicken, ostrich legs, crocodile and ostrich meatballs, and
more. A few moments later another server would come with his
spit. After several rounds, the server would come up and take
requests. By the way, the ostrich was great.

None
of us were willing to go to the Simba - but ready for repacking for Tanzania and
on to a short night's sleep.

Roads

Yes, we have pictures of the roads.
They were difficult to take - again from a back seat and while being a victim of
the roads.

Road Blocks

Jackie
and I have always said during a trip, "Timing is everything!"
Pure luck, being at the right place at the right time is better than any planning
one could possibly do. Timing has allowed us to get much more
out of every trip than we could have ever planned for.

And
so it was throughout this trip - you'll be able to tell from the animal
pictures. BUT let's start out with the first unplanned activity: The
Masai Road Block on the Moro Road.

The
Maasai Roadblock on the Moro Road

We
come to a stop; vans cars and busses up the hill before us - all stopped. .

We
walk up, but see only a confusion of vehicles.

Down
the road, more vehicles pile in behind us.

While some wander, some "stand guard" while their companions pee in
the bushes.

We
learn three Masai hit by a truck late last night. Two died. They
were selling charcoal on the side of the road - not beside the road, but on the
road. The Masai are furious and want some action taken. Until
it is taken, they will not permit any traffic to move on the Moro Road.

Negotiations
with the government and road officials are going on. What is making this
even more complicated is there are two Masai tribes each with their Tribal Elder,
and those two Elders cannot agree. One elder wants "humps" put
in immediately - or no traffic will pass. A "hump" is very much
like one of our traffic bumps - on steroids. A hump may be 12 or 15 inches
high, and 6 feet wide. One never speeds over a hump - one stops and slowly
drives over it - even Hodge. The other Elder wants the road closed -
period. He wants it torn up in its entirety.

After
a hour or so, it really doesn't seem that long since we have been there, traffic
starts to move and we're on out way. As will any rubbernecker worth
his salt, pictures of the wreck follow. The Masai will not permit the
truck to be moved.

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So
we've had a terrific visit in this part of Kenya, Masai Mara, and we're headed
to a new location. However, we have to go back on the hellish Moro
Road.

We
get to approximately the area of the Maasai Roadblock, and we hit another road
block. We think it is a continuation of the Maasai Roadblock, but its
not. Hodge is very silent on the cause. However, the night before he
asked me for picture you will see later, of a guide's van with a sheared
axle. Now that I think about it, I feel certain that Hodge and his
fellow guides have been talking about more than animal sighting locations on
their radios the last few days. There has probably been some heavy duty
planning sessions going on. It seem just too coincidental that all these
guides and all these tourists, along with local sign bearing personnel just
happen to show up at the same time. Anyway, We're
in the Guide
/ Tourist Road Block

The
protesters, along with chants and shouts, point out that this almost non-existent
Moro Road is costing Kenya millions of lost tourist dollars. Visitor, like
me, are warning potential tourists that they are taking their health in their
hands when traveling these roads.

The
guides are losing their health, their potential earnings and their vehicles
because of the road and then the loss of tourists. The protesters want
some of the vast millions of dollars in tourist money to be invested in this
road - and want to know where the tourist money is being spent by the government.

Guides
and tourists protest

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So,
we pass this Guide / Tourist Road Block, and we've gone only abut ten miles when we
hit another road block:

The
Aids / HIV Awareness
Roadblock

OK,
this was more a march and awareness parade than a road block, but they blocked
the road for a while, none-the-less. This was a group on foot and in
pick up trucks, trying to make the community more aware of both HIV and Aids -
Both have reached epidemic proportions in Africa.

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So
all this road block business is over, right? But no! Just a few
miles down the road, at the next village, we are stopped again for
the

National
Wash your Hands Awareness Parade

Like
before, this is more of a parade than a road block. But we did have to
stop and let the road clear. This group is primarily made of
of children. They have marched down the road with small banners and are going
to a large field next to what appears to be a school.